Announcement by the Royal Society of New Zealand
Monday 7 February
OPENING OF STONEHENGE AOTEAROA AND THE LAUNCH OF
E=mc² The Story of the Universe
On Saturday 12 February, Nobel laureate Professor Alan MacDiarmid will officially open Stonehenge Aotearoa in the
Wairarapa, his birthplace, and at the same time launch the New Zealand programme to celebrate World Year of Physics:
E=mc² The Story of the Universe. It is a hundred years since Einstein, aged only 26, published his three great seminal
papers on Special Theory of Relativity (E=mc²), the Photoelectric Effect, and Brownian Motion.
Stonehenge Aotearoa harks back to the very beginning of science: man’s first attempts to measure his time and position
in the Universe. The henge, which is positioned to mark local celestial events such as solstices, will be a practical
teaching tool to demonstrate how ancient people got practical information on the seasons, time and navigation. The site
was built with thousands of hours of enthusiastic voluntary labour and $56,500 from the government’s Science and
Technology Promotion Fund administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand. More information on the site is given below
and at http://www.astronomynz.org.nz/stonehenge/stonehenge.htm
Dr Steve Thompson, Chief Executive of the Royal Society, said “What better place to kick off the Year of Physics, which
is all about the long genealogy of scientists from prehistoric times, who gradually worked out our place in the
Universe, how to navigate, how to record the passing of time, and the rules that make the Universe tick. Einstein came
up with radical new theories that overturned established thinking about time and space. A century later, we are still
struggling to think about time as a changing dimension.”
The Royal Society, the NZ Institute of Physics, and the physics and astronomy departments of our Universities, are
pooling resources to put on a comprehensive programme for the year, which includes a nationwide secondary school video
competition sponsored by Freemasons New Zealand, broadcast lectures, tours by international scientists, and a
comprehensive website www.e-equals-mc2.com. which also opens this weekend. The site, which is developed by e-net Ltd and hosted by The University of Auckland, has
also been made possible by the government’s Science and Technology Promotion Fund. The information on the site takes
visitors from the ancient Greeks, and follows developments right through to the current work of our own physicists. More
information will be added as the year progresses, and it is hoped that it can be maintained as an ongoing resource for
students and teachers, in particular.
President of the NZ Institute of Physics, Professor Geoff Austin, said, “New Zealand physicists from the Universities
and Crown Research Institutes have written different parts of the information for the site and it has been tremendous to
have the Einstein Celebration of the International Year of Physics as a common cause to bring us all together. We are
driven by our collective enthusiasm for Physics and its applications. New Zealand’s physicists are involved in a great
variety of exciting fundamental and applied research which will be illustrated in the website. As the website will show
much of this current research, ranging from how the dust in the atmosphere of Mars remains there because of Brownian
Motion (first properly analysed by Einstein in 1905), Quantum Optics (which in a way all started with Einstein’s
insights in his 1905 Photo electric Effect paper) and the search for new planets using gravitational lensing (which was
first predicted by Einstein) all lead back to Einstein and 1905.
“We all find Physics the most fascinating of careers and want to share some of this enthusiasm with young people by
showing Physics as a special way of knowing about the processes that make the Universe the way it is. Physics is a
single integrated insight and flows logically from its historical origins in Ancient Greece through to contemporary
science. We hope this dramatic story will be more apparent to young people as a result of our efforts and that this
collaborative effort will help a little to produce a new generation of up and coming distinguished scientists to rank
alongside Ernest Rutherford, Maurice Wilkins and Alan MacDiarmid.”
The first big event in the 2005 calendar, is the Queenstown conference of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced
Materials and Nanotechnology, 6-11 February, which has attracted top scientists from around the world, including our own
Alan MacDiarmid for whom the centre of research excellence is named. There will be a special forum on the issues
associated with the emerging and possibly revolutionary science of nanotechnology, which we are just starting to get to
grips with. The forum has been organized by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology in association with the
Conference.
The programme of events will be at www.e-equals-mc2.com and www.rsnz.org
So, if you’ve always wondered what E=mc² actually means, what sort of bloke Isaac Newton was, and why clouds don’t fall
down, this is your chance to find out.
More information on Stonehenge Aotearoa:
Stonehenge Aotearoa stands on a magnificent rural site a few kilometers east of Carterton. It is the brainchild of
astronomer Richard Hall and members of the Phoenix Astronomical Society, who have put many hours into surveying and
building the site over the last 15 months.
It is an adaptation of the mysterious 4,000 year-old monument on England’s Salisbury Plains, and has been specially
designed for the Southern Hemisphere. The project took well over 1,000 hours of surveying and astronomical calculation.
It combines modern scientific knowledge with Celtic and Babylonian astronomy, Polynesian navigation and Maori star lore.
The henge includes a tall obelisk; ‘heel stone’ to mark solstices and equinoxes; and an astronomical analemma, which
traces the movement of the sun through the year.
There are two observatories on the site, one of which contains the telescope of the New Zealand astronomer Peter Read. A
third, the Marariki Observatory is under construction using a dome donated by the United States Navy from its former
installation at Black Birch near Blenheim.
2005 Programme
February
6-11 Feb MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology AMN2 Conference in Queenstown / Feb 10 special
session on issues relating to nanotechnology organised by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology
12 Feb Nobel Laureate Professor Alan MacDiarmid opens Stonehenge Aotearoa nr Carterton and launches NZ programme for
2005 World Year of Physics (E=mc² The Story of the Universe).
Dedicated website on the genealogy of physics, from ancient Greece to current work in New Zealand www.e-equals-mc2.com
also launched. Both Stonehenge Aotearoa and the website are part-funded by the government’s Science and Technology
Promotion Fund.
7-22 Feb Series of lectures at the Canterbury Arts Centre, Christchurch, organised by the University of Canterbury
Department of Physics and Astronomy:
Monday 7 February 7pm
Elizabeth Wylie Introduction: Einstein’s life and his theory of special relativity
Wednesday 9 February 7pm
Pauline Harris A history of Maori science and physics in New Zealand
Sunday 13 February 1pm
Ben Carter The photoelectric effect and quantum mechanics
Sunday 20 February 1pm
Suruj Seunarine Brownian motion and the existence of atoms
Tuesday 22 February 7pm
Duncan Wright The Big Bang, Einstein’s greatest blunder
16 Feb BBC4 Science journalist Quentin Cooper meets Year 13 boys at Nelson College, and chairs discussion at local
Branch of the Royal Society.
17 Feb (4.15pm) Briefing for Auckland science and video teachers at Epsom Girls Grammar School, hosted by Director of
Science Graham Foster
March
1 March Presentation at Parliament on Australian/NZ plans to bid for $Euro billion contract to build the world’s
largest radio telescope, spanning 5,000km from Western Australia to New Zealand. Presenters: Professor Brian Boyle
(Australian National Telescope Facility), Professor Geoff Austin (University of Auckland), and Professor John Hearnshaw
(University of Canterbury).
Beginning 7 March (7.30pm), Of Stars and Standing Stones, the first in a series of astronomy courses to be held in
Science House, 11 Turnbull St, Thorndon, Wellington. Suitable for any interested adult, layperson or amateur astronomer.
Inquiries, phone Kay Leather 04 385 2349, evenings.
8-24 March Visit by Professor Frank Close, Oxford University.
Professor Close is a guest of Massey University in Palmerston North; he will also visit Auckland, Wellington (lecture on
16 March), Nelson (Rutherford’s birthplace), Christchurch and Dunedin. See bio at end of document.
Space Exhibition opens at Canterbury Museum
April
7 April School video competition entries due
12 April Wellington Lecture by Professor Mark Warner, ex-pat, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University
15 and 22 April Judging of video competition
18-30 April Carter Lecture Series by Bob Mitchell, NASA (Cassini Project)
May
Visit by Simon Singh, author of “Fermat’s Last Theorem” and “Big Bang” for Auckland Writers’ Festival - 18 May
presentation to Wellington secondary school students on the Big Bang, and lecture at Victoria University’s Rutherford
House, Lecture Theatre 1 (time to be advised)
1st week of May - surprise announcements at schools for winners of video competition
Royal Society of New Zealand/Radio New Zealand lecture series begins. Each lecture will be broadcast on National Radio
at 2.04pm the Sunday after recording.
Auckland, Wednesday 4 May
STAR BIRTH AND DEATH: CRUCIBLE OF LIFE
Dr Matt Visser, Department of Mathematics, Victoria University of Wellington
Palmerston North, Wednesday 11 May
KEEPING TIME: THE ANCIENTS
Asst Professor Robert Hannah, Department of Classics, Otago University
New Plymouth, Wednesday 18 May
GALILEO’S DILEMMA: SCIENCE AND RELIGION
Dr John Stenhouse, Department of History, Otago University
Whangarei, Wednesday 25 May
AGE OF THE EARTH: THE VICTORIANS
Dr Hamish Campbell, Geological and Nuclear Sciences/Te Papa
June
3 June Winners of school video competition depart for the UK and Europe
7 June Richard Hall, Phoenix Astronomical Society, lectures on extra-terrestrial life at Canterbury Museum (in
association with Space Exhibition)
18 June Winners of school video competition return from Europe
Royal Society of New Zealand/Radio New Zealand lecture series continues. (Each lecture will be broadcast on National
Radio at 2.04pm the Sunday after recording.)
Timaru, Wednesday 1 June
TO SEE WHAT CANNOT BE SEEN: RUTHERFORD AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE ATOM
Professor Paul Callaghan, MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology
Nelson, Wednesday 8 June
EINSTEIN: WHO WAS HE, AND WHAT WERE HIS IDEAS ABOUT THE UNIVERSE?
Richard Hall, Phoenix Astronomical Society, and Dr Lesley Hall, Department of Women’s Studies, Victoria University
Wellington, Wednesday 15 June, broadcast live from Te Papa, 6.00pm - 8.00pm.
THE MAD, MAD WORLD OF SCHRODINGER’S CAT: WHY NO ONE UNDERSTANDS QUANTUM MECHANICS
Professor Tom Barnes, The University of Auckland
July
13-15 July NZ Institute of Physics Conference, Auckland
Visit by ex-pat Professor Gerry Gilmore, Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge (see bio at end of document). Professor
Gilmore is a guest of the NZ Institute of Physics. He will speak at the Conference and visit other locations in New
Zealand. Details to be advised.
August
Visit by Mick Nott, Sheffield Hallam University (see bio at end of document)
September
24 September to 23 October Visit by Professor Malcolm Longair, director of Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University.
Professor Longair is coming as Canterbury University’s Erskine Fellow, and will visit other centres. See bio at end of
document.
October
Visit by Professor Carl Wieman (2001 Nobel Prize for Physics), University of Colorado. Professor Wieman is a guest of
Otago University. He will also give The University of Auckland’s Sir Douglas Robb Lectures, and travel to other centres.
Professor Malcolm Longair will visit other centres in New Zealand. He departs on 23 October.
November
16 November End of year celebration at Science Honours dinner in Wellington, including presentation of awards to
teachers of physics, nominated by the NZ Institute of Physics.
Professor Frank Close
Professor Frank Close OBE is Professor of Theoretical Physics at Oxford University and Fellow in physics at Exeter
College, Oxford. He was formerly Head of Theoretical Physics at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and was Head of
Communications and Public Education at CERN, the European Centre for Particle Physics, from 1997-2000. He has been
Fellow of the Institute of Physics since 1991, and was awarded the Institute’s Kelvin Medal in 1996 for his
contributions to the Public Understanding of Physics.
Educated at St Andrews University and Oxford University, he has published over 200 research papers on theoretical
particle physics, and is the author of a text book and 6 popular books on science, the most recent being The Particle
Odyssey. His book “Apocalypse When? – cosmic catastrophe and the fate of the universe” was short listed for the Science
Book Prize in 1989, being placed ahead of Hawking’s Brief History of Time (but regrettably not ahead in sales). His
expose of the cold fusion scandal, “Too Hot To Handle” made the lead headlines in The New York Times in 1991. He
presented the televised Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 1993, which were shown on BBC2, and also gave them live
on Japanese television in 1994. He has made numerous radio presentations about science on the BBC World Service for over
25 years and wrote and presented the highly acclaimed “Lucifer’s Legacy – the meaning of asymmetry” on BBC Radio 4 in
2003. He has written popular science in The Guardian newspaper for 20 years and his article “The Dark Side of the Moon”
(about viewing the total solar eclipse in Zambia) won the prestigious British Science Writers award for “the best
article on science in a national newspaper in 2001”.
He was Vice President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science with responsibility for the national
programme, including National Science week, from 1992-98. He has served on several national and international advisory
panels, was Interim Deputy for Science at the USA Jefferson Laboratory during 2000-2003 and is currently chairing a UK
Commission investigating the scientific case for human spaceflight as applied to astronomy and geophysics. In 2000 was
awarded OBE for "services to research and the public understanding of science".
Professor Close will be the guest of Massey University from March 8-24. He will give the Sir Neil Waters Distinguished
Lecture and will visit Auckland, Welllington, Nelson, Christchurch, and Dunedin.
Professor Gerry Gilmore, Inst. of Astronomy, Cambridge University
Gerry Gilmore grew up in New Zealand and became interested in astronomy as a child. His fascination with astronomy has
continued throughout his life and he is currently a Professor of Experimental Philosophy with the Institute of Astronomy
at the University of Cambridge. His research is largely related to stellar populations, what matter really is, and where
it is. Gerry Gilmore is active on numerous astronomy related projects. Gaia is an ambitious plan to chart a three
dimensional map of the Milky Way. It is hoped that this project will provide insight into the composition, formation and
evolution of our Galaxy. He is also Chair of Opticon which helps organize and administrate astronomical projects with
member EU countries.
Professor Gilmore is coming to New Zealand in July for the New Zealand Institute of Physics Conference.
Prof Malcolm Longair, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge
Malcom Longair is a professor of natural philosophy and head of Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. He
conducts research in the field of astrophysics, with an interest in high energy astrophysics, astrophysical cosmology
and the history of physics. He has contributed to NASA’s Hubble telescope project and the European space agency program.
Additionally, he holds numerous prestigious positions on international committees and panels.
He has published eight books, including, “Theoretical Concepts in Physics”, “Alice and the Space Telescope” and “Galaxy
Formation”. Teaching Physics and raising public awareness are important to him. He has authored university texts and
delivered television lectures on “The Origins of Our Universe”.
Professor Longair will be the University of Canterbury’s Erskine Fellow from 23 September to 24 October.
Mick Nott, Principle Lecturer, Sheffield Hallam University
Mick Nott began his academic studies in chemistry but wasn’t comfortable conforming to conventional thinking. From there
he moved to a degree in Logic in Physics at Sussex. He currently teaches at Sheffield Hallam University. He is the
editor of “School Science and Review” and has an active role with the Association for Science Education (ASE), one of
the largest teachers’ associations in the world. During the 80’s he worked in an advisory position for the Secondary
Science Curriculum (SSCR) and his influence can still be seen in today’s national curriculum.
Early teaching experiences forced him to critically evaluate his perspective on teaching. As an educator his teaching
methods have evolved as he learned to develop his own creativity and resourcefulness. It could be said that Mick takes a
progressive and hands on approach to teaching science. The history and culture of science education are of interest to
him and he believes it is important to consider the roots of today’s curriculum in order to develop programmes in the
future.
Mick Nott is visiting New Zealand in August as a guest of the NZ Institute of Physics.
Professor Carl Wieman, Department of Physics and JILA, University of Colorado
As an undergraduate Carl Wieman’s research utilised lasers to study atomic physics. Most of his career since has
involved this type of investigation with variations on the original theme. He gained worldwide recognition in 1995 for
his part in the discovery of a new form of matter, the Bose-Einstein condensate. In 2001, Carl Wieman, along with Eric
A. Cornell and Wolfgang Ketterle won the Nobel Prize for their work in this field.
Recently, Carl Wieman was named the U.S. Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education
and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. He takes an interesting approach to teaching, which could
be a result of his own atypical experience. It is a major focus of his, to create an interesting and good learning
environment for the average student. He is currently teaching a physics class for students with majors in disciplines
other than science.
Professor Wieman will be the guest of Otago University in October. He will also be The University of Auckland’s Sir
Douglas Robb Lecturer.